Pressure piles on Perez for RedBull seat
- Darian Crowley, Benedetta Acciaresi
- Oct 28, 2024
- 3 min read
It couldn’t have gone much worse. Does Sergio Perez’s nightmare home race put his seat at risk?
Source: Song Haiyuan/MB Media/Getty Images
After getting knocked in Q1, the pressure was already on, particularly with Verstappen getting on the front row. On Sunday, he made a mistake before the race even started.
Perez parked his car too far forward on his grid spot, a very basic error for a driver of his experience. He did make a decent start, moving up to 13th, but also incurring a 5-second penalty for the parking error.
He would end up racing one of the contenders to replace him next year, Liam Lawson. Lawson fought hard to defend, and both drivers got pretty angry with each other. Probably not half as angry as Helmut Marko was.
Perez sustained some sidepod damage. He made an early stop for medium tyres which forced him into a 2-stop strategy. His pace was pretty poor for the rest of the race, leaving him racing Sauber's, and after a late stop, he was last of the 17 finishers. Verstappen didn’t have great pace in the second half of the race either, as Red Bull worsened.
Perez has had a clear deficit to Verstappen, which is to be expected. The concerning trend for the Mexican is that in each of the seasons at Red Bull, his deficit has also grown worse as the season continues: from reasonable to ridiculous.
This season this has resulted in Red Bull being in an unusual position going into the final four races, being favourites for the Driver’s Championship but likely to finish third in the Constructor’s Championship.
Source: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images
The contenders to replace Perez are mainly RB’s Tsunoda and Lawson. Christian Horner, whose power over the team has increased significantly in the last two years, seems to much prefer retaining experienced drivers over younger ones. His heightened role in the team may save Perez for another year... Even though he had something to say before the Mexico City race that may leave some worried, especially since he didn't get any point.
Source: Sky Sport
Red Bull have been quite loyal to Perez when compared to previous drivers. Daniil Kvyat, Pierre Gasly, and Alex Albon were all sacked by Red Bull due to the deficits they had to their teammates and their crash-prone ability. Why is Perez being excused?
2021 was a crucial reason why. Perez played a pivotal role in helping Max Verstappen towards his first world title. He went on to finish third and second behind Max in the following seasons. He has won races at Red Bull and helped them win championships unlike Kvyat, Gasly, and Albon.
This is the main reason why Red Bull has not taken any action for his poor 2024 season. Will that continue? They have given him a contract extension, but that hasn’t stopped the rumours.
Source: Mark Thompson/Getty Images
A strong race recently in Baku, until a late crash with Sainz, seemed to ease a bit of pressure. If Perez can pull out a decent race towards the end of the season, and as long as Liam Lawson doesn’t do something exceptional in those races, he is likely to be retained for 2025.
Red Bull are not like McLaren or Ferrari. They don’t have a great heritage in the sport, so the Driver’s Championship for Verstappen is their main goal, not the constructor’s.
All of Verstappen’s recent teammates have struggled compared to him. The team designs the car around his driving style, which is very hard for a teammate to replicate. Perez has proven to be the best.
Red Bull clearly have problems with the car at the moment. Both drivers complain about its drivability in Mexico. Will putting a younger driver over an experienced one who has proven loyal to the team help this? Only time will tell.
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